How to Care for Spathiphyllum ?

How to Care for Spathiphyllum?

If you are looking for a beautiful, floral and rough plant, Spathiphyllum or Peace Lilly is a great option. Spathiphyllum is an air-filtering plant that doesn’t need much sunlight. This makes it one of the best plants for homes and offices. We’ll discuss the best care tips for Spathiphyllum and some of its common issues to help you take care of this beautiful plant at home. Spathiphyllum has green, long, shiny and spear-shaped leaves with visible veins. Its small flowers rest on its white, cylinder-shaped spike up to 3cm (~1 inch). The spike is enveloped with a spoon-shaped white petal. To learn more caring tips for Spathiphyllum's visit Plant identification app

Let’s Get to Know Spathiphyllum

Spathiphyllum is a plant from the family of Araceae, indigenous to Central America and Asia. Spathiphyllum has green, long, shiny and spear-shaped leaves with visible veins. Its small flowers rest on its white, cylinder-shaped spike up to 3cm (~1 inch). The spike is enveloped with a spoon-shaped white petal. Spathi plant includes more than 40 species with the most famous one being Spathiphyllum wallisii, known as a popular house plant. It is a lasting and herbaceous plant with evergreen foliage, which is decorated with white flowers. Spathiphyllum leaves are shiny green and pointed. The plant has a max height of 45-60cm (1.5-2ft). Please be aware than all parts of this plant are poisonous if digested. It usually blooms in late winter and spring, with its flower lasting for 10-14 weeks. It may even bloom twice a year in some cases.

How to Care for Spathiphyllum ?

As discussed before, Spathiphyllum is a tough plant that can survive with minimum care, but we’re going to go over some tips to help them thrive. Bear in mind that you can keep Spathiphyllum outside, provided they are in shade and not exposed to extreme sunlight.

How Much Water Spathiphyllum Needs ?

This plant enjoys damp soil but not a swamp! In hot seasons, check the soil and water it when it’s dry 3cm deep. Too much humidity around the plant could cause the leaves to turn dark and fall off. Make sure to water Spathiphyllum more often the more sunlight it gets. The best cue for when to water it is its soil. If the soil is dry more than 3cm deep, the plant needs watering. It goes without saying that Spathiphyllum needs more water in hotter seasons and less water in the winter to grow properly. In conclusion, Spathiphyllum can survive with little water but loves regular and right watering.

What soil to use for Spathiphyllum ?

Spathiphyllum needs a rich, well-drained and slightly acidic soil. So you may use a mixture of quicksand, leaf fertilizer, cocopeat and soil. If you haven’t mixed your own soil before you can buy pre-mixed soil, just make sure it contains cocopeat or leaf fertilizer. Insufficient nutrients can slow down growth and lead to pale and smaller leaves. Using compost fertilizer to can enrich your soil.

How Much Fertilizer Spathiphyllum Needs ?

Spathiphyllum plant enjoys some fertilizer every 3 weeks in its growth season (spring and summer). Make sure not to overdo it with the fertilizer as it can cause the leaves to turn brown. Whole fertilizers are recommended for their iron and magnesium content. Spathiphyllum is sensitive to lack of these elements and the edge of its leaves turn yellow if it doesn’t get enough. We also recommend to use humic acid in first fertilization.

Does Spathiphyllum Need Humidity?

Low humidity is one of the causes of browned leaves in Spathiphyllum. Aside from daily misting, you can fill a pot-holder with pebbles and fill it halfway with water. Place your Spathiphyllum pot on it and make sure the bottom of the pot is not in contact with the water underneath pebbles. The water will evaporate gradually and provides moisture for the plant. If you’re not sure about misting you can use a cool humidifier.

Does Spathiphyllum Need Trimming?

Yes, you can surely groom your plant. First step is to trim the flowers. The flowers of this plant are directly attached to the stem and drain a lot of energy from it. After blooming, you should go for high-nutrient fertilizers or trim the flowers, instead. Always trim brown and yellow leaves. To learn more caring tips for Spathiphyllum's visit Plant identification app

When Does Spathiphyllum Bloom?

This plant starts blooming with enough sunlight, the right fertilizer and pot size. If your plant is not blooming, it may be due to lack of sunlight. Move it to a well-lit place, but keep it out of blazing sun because that too could slow blooming. You could also boost blooming by supplementing spathiphyllum with high-potassium and high-phosphorus fertilizers. If you plant is producing green flowers, it’s a sign of low soil nutrients.

Spathiphyllum Reproduction

You can replant spathiphyllum in mid to late spring, with extreme care. You can plant new plants from a concentrated lump. Wet the soil around the roots and detach the stalks from the mother plant with at least 3-4 leaves. If there are fewer leaves, try to cut them while still attached to larger stalks. Use a sharp blade to cut the rhizomes. Make sure every new plant comes with a strong and active root. Plant each one individually in a 11cm-wide pot (4 inch). Cover the new plant with a clear plastic sheet for a few weeks. Once it started growing, remove the cover and place the plant in indirect sunlight at the temperature of 20 degrees Celsius.

Why Spathiphyllum Leaves Turn Yellow ?

Too much and too little watering, the growing age of the plant or the lack of nutrients in the soil can be one of the reasons for the yellowing of Spathiphyllum leaves, but the most common and major reasons for this problem are too much watering and not having proper drainage of the pot. So make sure to allow soil to dry to a depth of 2-3 cm and then water it. After watering, be sure to remove excess water from under the pot. Also low watering can be the cause of this problem, with the difference that in low watering, in addition to yellowing and falling leaves, the plant will also wither. To find out Spathiphyllum's Common diseases visit Plant identification app

Why Spathiphyllum Leaves Turn Brown ?

This problem mostly happens due to the lack of humidity in the environment, which you can solve by using a humidifier or the island method. In addition to this, the use of dense water also causes this problem, so try to use water without salts to irrigate the plant. (Boil it and leave it in the room for 24 hours.)

Why Spathiphyllum Lower Leaves Turn Yellow ?

Too much watering. Be sure to let the soil dry between two waterings and then water it. Also, this problem can also be caused by extreme cold. So if this happens in the cold season of the year, move the plant to a place with higher temperature.

Is Spathiphyllum Toxic ?

Yes, all the different species of this plant are toxic. You can learn about all the toxic house plants in the article on this specific subject. This plant contains oxalate crystals, which are dangerous to animals, and lycorine alkaloid which is dangerous to humans. If swallowed, it causes symptoms such as burning and swelling of the lips, mouth and tongue, difficulty in speaking and swallowing, vomiting and diarrhea in humans.

Flowers Turning Green

This is quite common and should not be a concern. However, if the flowers start to turn green from the beginning, you should nourish your plant.

Why Leaves Turn Dark and Decay ?

This is usually due to excessive watering, sometimes the cold weather is also the cause of blackening of the leaves. And of course, fungal diseases are one of the main cause of this problem.

Spathiphyllum Diseases and Pests

Aphids and spider mites are pests of this plant, shield bugs also sometimes cause problems. These insects gather on the leaves of petioles or stems and feed on plant sap and cause yellowing of leaves and weakening of the plant. Thrips is another pest that can feed on plant sap. As a result of their activity, the leaves become twisted and misshapen, and silver-gray spots are created on the leaves. Phytophtera blight is one of the fungal diseases that causes black or brown dead spots on the edge or center of the leaves. Fungal root decay caused by two fungi, Pythium and Cylindrocladium, is another disease that causes yellowing of the leaves, especially the lower leaves of the plant close to the root. Sometimes it is accompanied by wilting of the plant. Dark brown oval spots may be formed on the leaf and petiole, especially in the areas near the surface of the soil. This is a sign that most of the plant's roots are dead and the death of the plant is imminent. Leaf spot is another disease due to which circular black or brown spots are formed on the edge and width of the leaf. There may be concentric rings in the spots. Avoiding excessive watering, proper ventilation of the place where the plant is kept, using disinfected planting beds are among the solutions to prevent the spread of fungal diseases. But if the disease starts and progresses, you should use appropriate fungicides. Dark brown oval spots may be formed on the leaf and petiole, especially in the areas near the soil surface, which is a sign of the loss of most of the plant's roots and the definite death of the plant. Leaf spot is another disease due to which circular black to brown spots are observed on the edge and width of the leaf. Ceramic viral diseases cause the appearance of yellow spots on the leaf surface, malformation of the leaves, and stunting of the plant. Viral diseases have no cure and the infected plant should be destroyed.